Novella -Novelette News and #IWSG AI Writing

InsecureWritersSupportGroup.com

Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today: Kim Lajevardi, Natalie Aguirre, Nancy Gideon, and Diedre Knight!

September 3 question -

What are your thoughts on using AI, such as GPChat, Raptor, and others with your writing? Would you use it for research, storybible, or creating outlines\beats?

I'm not cool enough to know what any of that actually is, so I don't have any thoughts on it. I don't use it. I do use Grammarly, which I have been very open about, and even have a link on my sidebar. I use it for spelling and editing. I don't use any of the "write it for me" features. 

August 18 - August 24 report:
Interesting statistics. 97 of my 111 words were unique??? 

TOPIC CHANGE!
Time to talk about my novella, or novelette, Jewels of Darterra.

 
Before writing, I discovered this term, STARGENDER.
"In more accurate terms the word may also refer to worldly non human gender that is beyond which genders are discovered, coined or comprehended by earthly terms."

I considered the possibilities of this when writing the story. The characters do not technically have genders, as reproduction is handled entirely by the moon world. (Yes, they have emotions, feel love, and express it. But they do not get pregnant, give birth themselves, or have reproductive organs. And I did use pronouns- though it's debatable if those pronouns are accurate.) 
Consider the Orcs in the LOTR movies.

And then I read this information on Paper Genocide.



As a Native American, I considered how I could tie this knowledge into my world-building. Which is how the antagonist Jaildarn was created. Those with a gold jewel were depleting in number, no longer relevant to the world. Unable to deal with this reality, they get all genocidal. This gave me Belp, the protagonist, and the question "Could Belp have prevented all this death, and if so, why didn't he?"

While it is a speculative fiction story set on a moon world, it's easy to draw parallels to social issues here on our real world, if one is so inclined. 

(A "race" that was known for exploration and discovery is declining in population and generates a villain, and a "race" known for their connection to the stones, rocks, the very world itself, produces a hero.)

Has a word or concept you had not previously encountered ever inspired you to write a story?

9798231627950 ISBN

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/241082039-jewels-of-darterra

Please 👏 add to your "want to read."

Expected publication September 9, 2025

https://books2read.com/u/mZOjGy

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1845486

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🕮 - J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge

💖Thank you to the 37 friends who wished me well on my Facebook profile timeline facebook.com/j.lennidorner

https://bsky.app/profile/jlennidorner.bsky.social  My current favorite social media site.
https://amzn.to/41QBB4P Author page on Amazon — please consider following and supporting this indie author!
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-lenni-dorner  BookBub author profile— I'd be grateful if you'd follow me.
  #AtoZChallenge a-to-zchallenge.com Kindly check out the blog hop's website. Watch for special features: 

Sept 3- Intergeneration Month - Arlee Sept 17- Condiment Month - J

AI in writing #IWSG #WEP

InsecureWritersSupportGroup.com

Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today:

Feather Stone, Kim Lajevardi, Diedre Knight, C. Lee McKenzie, and Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen!

Aug 7 question -

Do you use AI in your writing and if so how? Do you use it for your posts? Incorporate it into your stories? Use it for research? Audio?

Not really. I have Grammarly, but I use that as a spelling and grammar check. I do use the proofread option on https://wordcounter.net but I'm not sure that's really AI. Text-to-speech isn't especially new technology.  

https://www.grammarly.com/referrals/redeem?key=jj7qkjax276b5hju

I feel like we've had this discussion question before. I tried AI to rewrite my book summary/ "back page." 

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📚https://www.nationalbook.org/adventure/Summer Reading Adventure (based in the United States). 🕮 Adventurers must submit by August 31, 2024. (There doesn't appear to be an actual "signing up" stage. You just kinda do the activities.) I plan to keep track of these this summer on my blog.

I'm not sure what genres I haven't read? 
https://kingdompen.org/genres-youve-never-heard-of/

Cli-fi  -- Anyone have a suggestion? 

Cashier Memoir?
Solarpunk? (This sounds really interesting...) 
Growing Seeds from Stones: A solarpunk novella  I found this. Does anyone have any better suggestions?

Life tossed a lot of curveballs my way. My spouse and I dealt with the loss of a cherished family member. Which resulted in dealing with the state of Florida. I was nearly deported. (DO THE MATH, I'm a Native American. 👨🏽 I've got over 10,000 years of ancestors beneath my feet. Even when you build a stupid freaking convenience store and gas station over their burial sites, it is still sacred ground. Put a few fuel pumps on Arlington ⛽ and watch people get all protest-y, but do it to us -- no one cares. This is the place where generations of my people spilled blood. Where are they going to sell me? That was the case my lawyer made. I was very lucky to be saved.) 

I'm not calm. I want to make noise. There's a woman running for President, and a nutjob running for Emperor. "In four years you don’t have to vote again." -verified source (Sometimes it comes with a claim that he just means he'll change everything in four years. Other times, there's mention of Project 2025 and Agenda 47, where the American government is dismantled and replaced by a Monachy of sorts. "Dictator for life.") My spouse and I are terrified of November. I remember being attacked four years ago by "red hat" people. 🥚Egged on my way into a hospital. That's the dystopian nightmare that could happen again soon.

I'm trying to get back into writing and reading more. Honestly, I'm dealing with PTSD stuff and just fighting for my mental health right now. And looking at the real possibility of letting down my ancestors by fleeing our land next year. My spouse has family in Europe. I don't know. We don't desire to leave. But it might be our only way to survive. I can't do another 4 or more years of being under constant threat. I do not have it in me.